Avalon
by Peeta Melark
Summary: Yes. I've done it now. The characters from "Merlin," play the game 'Avalon' in a contemporary setting. Of course, it was Morgana's idea, and, of course Arthur doesn't want to play.


Arthur stared at the box in Morgana's hands, a look of pure dismay on his face. No. It couldn't be true. Even Morgana couldn't be _that_ cruel! But apparently she could, for the box stared back, coolly mocking him with every second he looked at it.

"No," he said finally. "We are _not_ playing _Avalon_."

Morgana cocked her head to the side. Her eyes gleamed with a suppressed smile, and a challenge. "Why not?"

"Because it's for children. Besides, I'm _sure_ our friends have to be getting home."

Gwaine cleared his throat. "I can stay, Princess! Don't worry."

Arthur glared. "Absolutely not."

"Then I'll just call Dad." Morgana reached into her back pocket for her phone. Arthur cursed.

"_Damn_ it, Morgana, you win!" he cried, throwing his hands into the air. "Guys!"

Percival was the first one to the table. He sat down and leaned his elbows against the smooth wood surface, grinning. Next was Gwaine, who winked as he took his place next to Percival. With an apologetic look, Gwen took her usual place, dragging Elyan behind her. Morgana sat eagerly next to her, Leon at her side. Lancelot, Mordred, and Merlin were last, laughing ruthlessly.

"Oh, sit down, Arthur!" Morgana snapped, shuffling the cards violently. As soon as Arthur sat, the deck was shoved in his face. Sighing, he pulled out the middle card. _Loyal servant of Arthur_. Typical.

As soon as everyone had their cards, Morgana demanded silence. Then she recited the opening spiel. Arthur's eyes remained firmly shut, his fist out in front of him.

"Percival, you may close your eyes." Morgana said. "All players, eyes open."

Arthur blinked the darkness from his eyes and glanced around. Gwaine was grinning at him, Merlin looked worried, and Mordred was staring at his hands. This did not bode well for anyone.

"Arthur, you take the first quest," Morgana said. Arthur nodded, feeling far more responsible than he should have.

"Right." He cleared his throat. "As you all know, our goal is to defend Camelot with our lives. To do this, we must—Gwaine stop grinning at me—keep our allies close. Today, we ride for Olaf's kingdom to sign a new treaty of peace. I will go, and I will take Leon and Merlin with me. Your votes?"

Everyone put in their votes. Five accepted, and five rejected. A new proposal was in order, but first Arthur wanted to know who rejected it and why.

"Morgana?" he asked. She shrugged.

"I'm not in it."

"Lance?"

"I don't think Merlin is, um, ready for this kind of a quest."

"Gwaine?"

"What Morgana said. I'm not in it."

"Guine_vere_." He turned to look at his girlfriend, who smiled sweetly.

"I think you need a woman on this mission. Take your sister with you, Arthur. Be nice."

Only Percival's vote remained. As it turned out, Percival didn't think they could trust Merlin. Why that was, Arthur didn't think he could ask, so he kept his mouth shut. As Percival said it, Morgana turned and stared at Merlin, eyes wide.

"All right, then," said Arthur. "I'll take Gwaine and Morgana."

The proposal won six to four. Arthur grinned.

"Success or failure?"

Morgana and Gwaine handed in their cards. Arthur put in his own and shuffled. He flipped them over and let out a cheer.

"Success!"

Morgana laughed. "Having fun?"

"Shut _up_, Morgana."

"My turn!" Gwaine said, taking the Leader card from Arthur. "So, we need weapons to defend our city, but the blacksmith's house is overrun with thieves. As I'm the king right now, I don't think I have to go. Gwen, Merlin, and Percival can go. I love you," he added to Percival, winking.

"All right, whatever," Percival laughed. "Let's just vote."

Three rejections, seven acceptances, and many complaints from Morgana later, Arthur fixed his eyes on Gwaine's hand as he turned over the results. Success, success, and _failure_.

"Oh no!" Arthur heard Gwen whisper. He took her hand as Merlin started his own quest.

"A dragon has been terrorizing Camelot for the past three months, and I need three strong warriors to accompany me on this quest. I will take Arthur, Percival, and Gwaine—"

"YES!" Gwaine shouted. "Finally!"

Percival chuckled. "We're probably all going to die."

Gwaine shrugged. "Probably, but I wouldn't miss it for the world. Besides, I get to go with you."

Merlin glared. "Who's with me?"

Arthur felt Gwen's breath tickle his ear as she whispered, "I don't think we should trust Merlin."

Of course, Arthur trusted Gwen. She was his fiancée, and she always knew what to do. She was probably the only person at the table he _could_ trust. So he threw in a rejection card, as did Morgana, Lance, Mordred, and Gwen.

"Arthur?" Merlin glanced at him. "Why did you reject?"

Arthur fumbled for words. "I… I don't think we can trust you."

Merlin bit his lip. "Well, no, you can't trust anybody."

~O~O~O~O~

"I can't believe we failed," Mordred said glumly as Arthur lay the fifth quest's cards on the table. Arthur beamed at him.

"It's all right," he said. "Good still won."

"Not yet," said Morgana. "Not if we guess Emrys."

Arthur's eyes all but fell out of their sockets. "MORGANA?"

Gwen puled her hand from his and smiled sweetly. "Sorry, love."

Gwaine glared accusingly at his fiancé. "Are _you_ evil?"

Percival laughed. "God, no!"

"I am," Lancelot admitted.

"And I have the power to take Emrys down." Mordred looked horribly guilty. "Sorry."

Arthur looked at Merlin, who had gone white. As Mordred's eyes scanned the table, he bit his lip and prayed Merlin wasn't Emrys. But Mordred's keen eyes halted and the corner of his lips twitched up in a smile.

"Merlin," he demanded. "Card."

Reluctantly, Merlin handed over his card. Morgana clapped ecstatically.

"Emrys!" she squealed, throwing her arms around Mordred. "Oh, Mordred, you're the best!"

Arthur, in his shell-shocked state, tried to remember why they called that card Emrys. Then it hit him. It had been back when they first became friends, and Merlin didn't like the idea that everyone was trying to assassinate "Merlin." So they had asked around the table for a better name, and Mordred came up with Emrys, which meant 'immortal' in Welsh.

But the game was over. Evil had won, and there was nothing Arthur could do to save his beloved city. Wait… Beloved city?

"MORGANA!" he yelled, pushing his chair back from the table. "I'm going to kill you!"

"Why?" Morgana asked. "You had fun."

"That's _precisely_ why."

"Sorry, big brother," Morgana giggled. "Who's up for another round?"

Everyone but Arthur raised their hands. Gwaine, as usual, winked.

"Sorry, Princess," he said. "Guess you'll just have to play again."

**A/N: Yeah… This is void of plot and meaning, and not even very clever, but it was fun to write. **


End file.
